Compartmentalized carton



June 6,, 1961 J. M cALLuM COMPARTMENTALIZED CARTON Filed March 12, 1959II I FIG.5

INVENTOR JOHN MCCALLUM ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,987,235COMPARTMENTALIZED CARTON John McCallum, 4323 Harvard Ave., Montreal,Quebec, Canada Filed Mar. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 798,928 '3 Claims. (Cl.229-27) It is an object of this invention to provide a compartmentalizedcontainer which will provide protection to the contents while beingreduced in size and tare weight over containers heretofore used forsimilar purposes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a container asaforesaid which is of one piece construction, and easy to set up andload.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a container asaforesaid which is reusable, and easily may be knocked down for storagepurposes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a container asaforesaid with a handle portion which may be enclosed during shipment,and made available as a projection for carrying purposes.

The above and other objects will be made clear from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the annexed drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the one-piece blank from which the improvedcontainer is formed;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the blank of FIGURE 1 inpartially assembled and erected condition;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing further completion of theerection;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view showing the relationship of interiorparts when the top is fully closed; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing the container with its handlecomponent in condition for use.

The disclosure of this application is based on a design intended forpackaging photographers flood lamp bulbs, and certain constructionaldetails of the design are specialized for that purpose. Clearly,however, with slight modification in detail, the container can beadapted to other purposes.

The primary function of a container is to protect its contents, and allpossible economic advantages of design or manufacture or ultimateassembly are subsidiary to the requirements of strength and padding.Once, however, these fundamental requirements of protection aresatisfied, considerations of size, tare weight, total material, ease ofassembly, etc. become dominant factors, on a. scale of prioritiesexactly determined by the relationship of each to the final cost sheet.

The total board going into any box is determined by the extreme lengthand width dimensions of the blank. Removal of portions within thesedimensions has no effect whatever on total board consumption, but doeseffect a reduction in the tare weight of the box, on which freight mustbe paid at the rate applicable to the contents. A die cutting operationmerely for the purpose of reducing tare weight might, itself, cost morethan the freight saving, but if the die cutting operation is needed tosatisfy other requirements of design, then it may be used to accomplishweight reduction at the same time. This is a point seldom realized bybox designers.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a blank made up of an endpanel 16, a front panel 12, a second end panel 14 and a rear panel 16.When the box is erected, a flap 18 on one side of the end panel issecured to the rear panel 16. At one margin of the end panel 10 is a topclosure flap 20 defined by score line 22. The flap 20 has one sidebevelled at 24 and the other side notched at 26. Opposite the topclosure fiap 20 is a bottom flap 28 defined by a score line 30 andhaving a bevelled portion 32.

The front panel 12 has a top flap 34 defined by score lines 36. A handhold 38 is die cut into the flap 34. Die cuts 40 in the panel 12 areseparated by a tongue 42 defined by slits 44 and a score line 46. Anadditional score line 48 is formed approximately medially of the tongue42. Panel 12 has a bottom closure flap 50 defined by score line 52 andthe flap 50 has bevelled side portions 54.

End panel 14 has a top flap S6 defined by a score line 58. The flap 56has a diagonal score line 60 defining a partition-forming flap '62, thesides 64 of which are normal to the score line 60. The panel 14 has abottom closure flap 66 defined by a score line 68 and having a diagonalportion 70.

The panel 16 has a top closure flap 72 defined by a score line 74. Thefree margin 76 of the flap 72 carries a die cut tongue 78 defined byscore lines 80 between which is a die cut tongue 82. The panel 16 has abottom flap 84 defined by a score line 86, the flap 84 having in itsfree edge 88 a die cut rectilinear opening 98.

For the purposes of FIGURES 2 and 3, the front, rear and end panels havebeen erected to rectilinear condition and the bottom has been fullyformed by interlocking the bottom closure flaps. This is done by firstfolding inwardly the flaps 84 then flaps 28 and 66, after which the flap50 is pressed inwardly depressing the entire bottom until a tongue 92 onthe flap 50 enters the opening 90 in the flap 84, after which the bottomis sprung back into plane condition with the tongue 92 of the flap 50underlying the central portion of the flap 84.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, the flaps 20, 34 and 72 are shown bent backpreparatory to closing. The flap 56 has been folded into the plane ofthe top, while the partition-forming flap 62 has been folded normalthereto to define a trapezoidal compartment. A photo-flood bulb orsimilar object is placed in this compartment as the compartment isformed.

In FIGURE 3 the top closure flap 20 has been folded into the plane ofthe top after, of course, insertion of the contents, and the frontclosure flap 34 similarly has been folded over and superimposed upon theflaps 20 and 56. The tongue 42, however, remains bent outwardly. Theclosure is completed thereafter by superimposing the top closure flap 72upon the other flaps. The tongue 78 of the flap 72 enters the openingdefined by die cuts 40 in the front panel 12 and is given clearancethrough the flap 20 by the die cut 26. The tongue 42 thereupon isinserted through the die cut 82 in the tongue 78 to lock the closure.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, the bottom flaps 28, 50, 66 and 84 are shownopened up to show the relationship of the parts when the closure iscomplete as above described.

A particular feature of the invention lies in the use of the panel 34 asa carrier handle while the remainder of the package is still securelylocked. This is accomplished as shown in FIGURE 5 by completing the topclosure as just described, leaving, however, the flap 34 outside theplane of the top. It will be realized that this package can be shippedin rectilinear condition with maximum protection of the contents. It maybe opened easily for inspection of the contents by the purchaser. It isthen easily and securely reclosed with, however, a provision of a handleas shown in FIGURE 5 for convenience of the customer.

If extreme automation of the package line is desired, regular slottedflaps may be substituted for the bottom flaps shown. In such case thetop is first fully closed, permitting two bulbs to be loaded at onceinto the already defined compartments and permitting the bottomthereafter to be closed with the package in motion, by standard flapfolding and pasting equipment.

While a functional equivalent of the package just described can be madewith less total board consumption by making it in four or five pieces,the resultant container is costlier on an overall basis, particularly asregards space requirements of the erected package.

Although various changes in detail will suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art, it is not intended to limit this invention to theprecise details disclosed herein but only as set forth in the subjoinedclaims.

I claim:

1. A package formed from a single sheet of board cut and scored toprovide front and rear panels, end panels and bottom closing flaps, atop closure flap on the rear panel, a tongue on the free edge of saidtop closure flap, a slit at the base of said tongue, at flap on thefront panel said flap having a die cut hand-hold opening, centrallylocated, and a locking tongue within the die cut portion forinterlocking engagement with the slit in the tongue of the rear wall topclosure flap said die cut opening being sized and shaped to receive thefingers of a human hand whereby the top closure flap may be locked withsaid handle-forming flap in either active or concealed position.

2. A package formed from a single sheet of board cut and scored toprovide front and rear panels, end panels and bottom closing flaps, aflap on one of said end panels and forming an extension of said panel,said flap being diagonally scored and having a partition-forming portionprojecting normal to said score, a top closure flap on the rear panel, atongue on the free edge of said closure flap, a slit at the base of saidtongue, a flap on the front panel said flap having a die cut hand-holdopening, and a locking tongue within the die cut portion forinterlocking engagement with the slit in the tongue of the rear Wall topclosure flap whereby the top closure flap may be locked with saidhandle-forming flap in either active or concealed position.

3. A package as set forth in claim 2 in which the top closure flaptongue fits Within the die cut of the handleforming flap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,089,067 Myers Aug. 3, 1937 2,331,754 Wohlers Oct. 12, 1943 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,057,539 France Mar. 9, 1954

